Chapter 43: The Class Game (Part 9)

The casino boss jumped up from his chair in fright. “You’re insane!”

Fu Wuxuan laughed. “My mind is perfectly clear.”

The casino boss shed his scholarly meekness and compromise, his words turning fierce. “Doing this puts you in direct opposition to all the nobles!”

A lowly gentry member challenging the entire noble class—what else could that be but madness?

Fu Wuxuan half-closed his peach-blossom eyes and lazily stared at the casino boss before suddenly asking, “Are you married?”

“No.” The casino boss reflexively answered honestly without thinking.

Unsure why the other had suddenly asked such a thing, the casino boss treated it as awkward small talk and routinely asked back, “Are you married?”

Before his words even landed, he instinctively glanced at Yun Xueqing beside him.

Fu Wuxuan didn’t notice his gaze and ignored the question, continuing on his own. “How many people are in your family?”

Faced with this household-registration-style questioning, the casino boss felt a strange unease but still answered honestly. “My parents divorced when I was young, and I grew up with my father. He passed away early, so it’s just me now.”

Fu Wuxuan opened his lazy eyes and drawled slowly, “Since you have no wife, no children, your elders are gone, no ties holding you back, and you’re all alone in the world, what are you afraid of? Afraid of noble retaliation?”

The casino boss choked.

Fu Wuxuan pressed on. “You have nothing to lose. You’re even willing to become a slave for this casino. So why not fight for it once—stand against those nobles?”

The casino boss was utterly stunned. The rules of this world had always been that inferiors obeyed superiors without defiance. As a commoner, he naturally revered those above him and dared not disobey noble orders.

He had never considered this question before, let alone opposing the entire noble class.

With a smile tugging at his lips, Fu Wuxuan’s tone grew icy. “You have nothing to lose and care only about this casino. So go all out for it.”

A rotten life means go for it.

The casino boss had always followed the world’s rules. Hearing such words for the first time, he couldn’t help being swayed, staring at him in a daze.

Fu Wuxuan curved his lips into a smile. “I’m not making things hard for you. Just hand over management to me. You don’t have to do anything—leave it all to me. If things blow up, you can push all the blame onto me alone.”

He coaxed slowly, “You won’t even need to handle it yourself. Just boldly hand everything over to me, and you’ll have a chance to revive the casino.”

Pain and struggle showed on the casino boss’s face. After a long moment, he finally asked, “Can it really succeed?”

As soon as he voiced it, he had his own answer in his heart.

No one had ever broken the “casino amount limit.” If he did, it would undoubtedly draw a horde of wealthy gentry to gamble big at his casino.

As the house, he’d take a cut from it all. No matter how he looked at it, it would revive this dismal gambling den—a sure-win situation!

A guaranteed victory, if only he dared to risk it all!

Thinking of his late father’s hopes and his own past resolve, the casino boss gritted his teeth and said gravely, “As long as you can save the casino… do whatever you want. I can bear the consequences.”

Even if all the nobles targeted him and turned him into a slave, he had to keep this casino afloat!

He was all in!

Mission accomplished, Fu Wuxuan smiled secretly. Before he could speak, the casino boss added worriedly, “But if some gentry really gamble big here and win, and our casino doesn’t have the operating funds to pay out… we’ll still go bankrupt.”

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “No problem. We have one last trump card.”

The casino boss blinked. “What trump card?”

Fu Wuxuan curved his lips and pointed at Yun Xueqing, who stood by with a flat expression as if it were none of his business. “Him. That’s the trump card.”

The casino boss was baffled. “What do you mean?”

Not only was the casino boss confused—Yun Xueqing also turned to look at him.

Fu Wuxuan explained leisurely, “Our casino just needs to add one special rule: Any gentry who wins a big payout must face him in a final challenge before claiming the prize.”

The casino boss hesitated. “…I’ve never heard of such a thing. That breaks the rules, doesn’t it?”

And can he even handle it?

Of course, he didn’t voice that last part.

Fu Wuxuan quirked his lips. “It does break the rules. But how many things in this world follow the rules?”

The casino boss was speechless.

“Rules are made by the strong,” Fu Wuxuan said, reining in his brows with a casual tone. “Set the rule, and people will follow it.”

Though they weren’t strong enough yet, breaking this precedent would surely draw high-level gentry desperate to rise to noble status. They’d tolerate the rule and gamble here.

They didn’t need many—just a few would be enough to get the casino thriving.

The casino boss hesitated but finally nodded. “Alright, just as you say.”

The deal was struck.

The casino boss seemed indecisive, but he was highly efficient. The very next day, he announced the casino had changed hands and implemented reforms per Fu Wuxuan’s white paper.

When Yun Xueqing heard the news, he mused thoughtfully, “Looks like he really wants to save the casino.”

Fu Wuxuan laughed. “He seems hesitant and weak-willed, but he’s actually pretty hot-blooded… If nothing goes wrong, the plan should succeed. You’ll have to guard the casino these next few days—it’ll be tough.”

Yun Xueqing had done similar “defending the fort” before, like holding the Kendo platform back then. Now it was a casino instead of a Kendo arena, but it made little difference to him.

He just needed to keep winning, preventing anyone from breaking through.

Most of Fu Wuxuan’s suggestions for the casino had minimal impact—except removing the bet limits, which caused a massive uproar. Wealthy gentry flooded in to gamble.

Word spread of this blatant challenge to the nobles, and busybodies hyped it up. One told ten, ten told a hundred, until the whole town knew—creating excellent publicity from another angle.

Suddenly, the casino bustled with nonstop traffic. High-stakes gentry gamblers played big, and with Yun Xueqing holding the fort, the house didn’t lose out. They even let some wins through strategically, creating a healthy cycle.

By the end of the first day, the casino netted 500,000 gold coins!

The casino boss tallied the accounts and sat crying in his office chair for half an hour. His slender eyes swelled like walnuts as he kept muttering, “Ancestors, your descendant hasn’t let you down.” Fu Wuxuan, listening outside the office, couldn’t stop laughing.

After thanking Fu Wuxuan and Yun Xueqing profusely for an hour, the boss’s lingering fear of noble reprisal vanished!

500,000 gold coins in a day!

Those petty nobles?

A rotten life means go for it!

Screw ’em!

Forget nobles—even if the Female Ghost came for his soul, nothing would stop this strategy!

After hearing the thanks, Fu Wuxuan took Yun Xueqing back to the Wooden Cabin.

Yun Xueqing tallied it up himself. “We need about 2.5 million for the two of us. At 500,000 a day, factoring in the boss’s cut, we can just barely make it in a week.”

Fu Wuxuan shook his head. “The first day drew crowds out of novelty and curiosity. But smart ones have figured out our trick—they know with you as the guardian wall, true class ascension is nearly impossible. So some high-level gentry will back off and stop gambling.”

It was tough, but not impossible—a few would still take the risk.

As he spoke, sure enough, the second day’s crowd dropped by a third. Familiar faces stayed away, revenue shrank by 200,000, and they only made 300,000 gold coins.

Though down 200,000, the casino boss was still thrilled.

He’d never made this much since taking over.

Yun Xueqing’s expression darkened. “At this rate, we won’t hit 2.5 million in a week.”

Fu Wuxuan wore an easy smile. “Worried already?”

Yun Xueqing looked up at him, expecting some countermeasure. Instead, Fu Wuxuan drawled teasingly, “If you’re this worried now, what’ll you do when the nobles send thugs to cause trouble?”

His tone was light and mocking.

Despite the obvious jab, Yun Xueqing didn’t retort. He just nodded. “You’re right. I’m being too hasty.”

Fu Wuxuan wasn’t panicked, so he must have a follow-up plan.

But Yun Xueqing didn’t wait for that—instead, the nobles came to smash the place first.

The arrogant nobles didn’t deign to show up personally. They sent two trusted lackeys to pressure the boss.

The casino boss was scholarly and mentally fragile, but he wasn’t the same man from days ago.

Money in hand made his spine stiffen.

He stuck out his neck—not aggressively, but firm. “The casino’s been sold. Pressuring me won’t work… Our boss won’t agree to shut it down.”

He even pulled out a forged transfer document to convince them he truly wasn’t the owner anymore.

Fu Wuxuan had faked it—crude work that wouldn’t hold under scrutiny. But the lackeys lacked the brains to analyze it closely and bought that the casino had changed hands.

The lackey snorted coldly at the casino boss. “Then call out your backer. We need to give him some ‘guidance’ right now!”

Recalling Fu Wuxuan’s private instructions, the casino boss put on a show, acting mysterious. “Our boss is a noble lord too. You’re not worthy to see him.”

The lackey’s eyes widened. “He’s a noble?”

If he’s a noble, why harm noble interests?

As a mere gentry lackey, he couldn’t fathom why some legendary noble would act this way.

He’d been a dog too long, abandoning any dream of class ascension.

The casino boss offered no explanation, just snorted. “Please leave.”

Fu Wuxuan and Yun Xueqing, hidden behind the office door, heard it all clearly.

Yun Xueqing furrowed his brows. “They won’t stop here. More trouble at the casino ahead.”

Fu Wuxuan showed no worry—his lips curved in a confident smile. “Step one is set. Time for step two.”

The casino was just a springboard from start to finish—disposable. The real money-making scheme hid behind it.